Those of you who have been reading this blog or know me personally know that I'm somewhat of a Longwave fanatic. "The Strangest Things" rocked my little musical world when it was released seven years ago and I've been obsessively tracking down physical copies of their entire recorded output ever since (I believe I only lack a Big Star tribute album which they appeared on with Nada Surf around the time "Endsongs" came out). So, it should come to you as no surprise that when word was out that lead singer and principle songwriter Steve Schiltz was going to release what was essentially a solo project on the heels of the spectacular "Secrets Are Sinister," I nearly jumped out of my skin with excitement.
Hurricane Bells - This Year
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The story goes as follows. Schiltz had several song ideas that he had been kicking around off and on for some time that didn't quite fit with the rest of his band's material. The plan was to record it all, cobble together an album and release it independently without much fanfare. Along comes his manager, asking if he has anything that could be used "exclusively." A few edits and months later, he finds out that his little ditty "Monsters" is going to be used during a big moment in the movie for "New Moon," the second installment of the Twilight saga. Suddenly, Schiltz finds himself with what is to become a pretty successful song and no proper band with which to back it up, quite literally by accident. He put the finishing touches on the album, did a little web surfing to find a suitable band name and thus, Hurricane Bells was born.
Hurricane Bells - The Darkness Is So Deep
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What we get is a record that sounds anything but cobbled together. Armed with little more than his MacBook and a Pro Tools Mbox recording interface, he has created what is one of the most criminally overlooked albums to come out last year and what may be the most varied album of Schiltz' career. The album opens with the understated eruption of "This Year," similar in some ways to his previous, guitar driven work, but still something fresh and unique. Throughout, we get hints of the post-punk shoegaze sound he has made his own over the years, but this record relies more heavily on acoustic guitars, scaled back atmospherics and the undeniable strength of Schiltz' songwriting, which has been honed and improved upon greatly over the past decade. Bits of "Tonight I'm Going to Be Like a Shooting Star" harken back to some of the best moments from "Endsongs" and we even get little tastes of alt-country and folk mixed into this deliciously intoxicating indie-pop cocktail, especially on "Freezing Rain" and "The Cold Has Killed Us."
Hurricane Bells - The Cold Has Killed Us
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Honestly, this post should have come much sooner. This is the perfect record for a snowed in weekend, which probably would have been much more useful information had I posted this back in November when it was released digitally. Regardless, this is a fantastic album. Having been fortunate enough to attend a Hurricane Bells show in Tulsa this past week and finally shake the hand of the man whose music has impacted me on a personal level more than nearly any other contemporary artist with few exceptions, I am glad to say that it couldn't have been made by a nicer guy. I wish Steve the best in this new endeavor, no matter what that may or may not mean to future Longwave release schedules.
Physical copies of the record haven't yet been delivered to record retailers, so the only place to purchase the album is online or at an upcoming show. I'll leave you with the video for the song that got this snowball rolling. Fortunately, there's not a vampire to be found. Special thanks to Steve for green-lighting the use of his music in this post.
Hurricane Bells - "Monsters" Music Video from Hurricane Bells on Vimeo.
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